Barely a Marriage
by allofbechloe
Summary: A wedding nobody asked for. Bite me.


This is an old draft from over half a year ago I thought had the potential to be rewritten, so here goes!

* * *

"What do you mean you have roses? She specifically asked for daisies! Are you deliberately trying to sabotage this wedding?"  
The florists hands start shaking as he stutters what sounds like an apology to the agitated blonde in front of him. One hand on her hip, the other clenched as a fist and eyes so wide open they're ready to roll out of their sockets.  
He eventually starts choking on his own words, so she gestures him to step out of her way.

Amy observes the heated argument from a distance but follows Aubrey as soon as she's headed to the elevator.  
"Aubrey, don't you think that you're freaking out just a little too much about the floral decoration? I mean, it's not that big of a d-"  
Each word is separated by an exaggerated wheeze while trying to keep up with Aubrey's pace. She doesn't notice when Aubrey stops dead in her tracks and so she bumps into her. Aubrey turns around and looks Amy dead in the eye, which sends shivers down Amy's spine.  
"Well, I'm sorry, Amy, that I'm trying to make sure that the bride is getting the best day of her life!"  
Amy throws her hands in the air, "Okay, sorry I asked", she says in a high-pitched voice.  
Aubrey turns around again and walks away. She can't deal with this right now. Her head is too full.

She opens the bathroom door of her hotel room and walks over to the sink to splash water in her face.  
It feels like a face mask made of lava is being peeled off her face. Refreshing.  
She looks at her reflection in the mirror.  
"Don't worry, it's just a minor inconvenience."  
She stares at herself for a few more seconds before she lets out a deep sigh of despair and drops her head.  
"Who am I kidding."  
She sinks away in her self-pity but startles when the bathroom door slams open and reveals a longhaired brunette.

"Damn it, Stacie! Ever heard of knocking?"  
She looks up at her girlfriend and to her surprise sees she's still in her normal clothes.  
"And why aren't you dressed up yet?"  
Stacie walks over to Aubrey and puts her hands on her shoulders.  
"That isn't our biggest concern right now."  
Aubrey stares at her with a dull expression on her face, too tired to guess what's going on again now. And Stacie gets the hint.  
"Lily's downstairs with a pair of-"  
"You had me at Lily."

* * *

"You look fat in that dress."  
"Shut up, Amy."  
She pours some wine into a glass and hands it over to Beca.  
"You need something strong, you know, for nerves."  
"What nerves? I'm not nervous. Do I look nervous?"  
Beca shakes her hands and stares at the glass of wine. Then to Amy, and back to the glass.  
Who is she fooling?  
"You got anything stronger?"  
"Thought you'd never ask"  
Out of nowhere, Amy whips out a bottle of whiskey and pours herself and Beca a glass, after drinking the glass of wine first.  
Beca doesn't even question it anymore.  
She takes the glass and pours the alcohol down her throat in one gulp smashing the glass on the table as she finishes and lets out a big sigh.  
"That's what I'm talking about, drink your problems away!"  
She actually calms down a bit, feeling the alcohol rush through her body. It isn't too bad now is it? She might actually pull it off without any casualties.  
But the moment of bliss is short-lived.

The two women turn around when they hear somebody knocks on the door and turns the doorknob.  
Amy quickly hides the scotch like a 16-year-old afraid of her mom. In this situation, the mom would be Aubrey. She'd forbidden everybody to drink anything whatsoever before the ceremony. At first they thought she was kidding but the vain in her forehead popping out when she found Amy with the same bottle she's holding right now had made herself pretty clear.  
To their relief, it's Emily who enters the room, but looking a bit sheepish.

"For your information,"  
"That doesn't sound good."  
Beca doesn't know where this is going, but it can't be anywhere near the right direction.  
"Bumper may or may not already be a little bit too greedy with the booze."  
Amy claps her hands.  
"I'm on it."  
As both Emily and Amy leave the room, Beca calls after Amy.  
"Amy, wait! Can I, like, talk to you a second before you go to his rescue?"  
Amy nods, walks back and closes the door. She stands right in front of Beca with a dead serious look on her face.  
"You think," Beca begins to stumble, "that, you know, I'll get a yes?"  
She doubts every word she says, not really knowing how to express her feelings, as usual.  
Amy's eyes grow big.  
"Of course! I mean look at you!" She gestures to Beca's body.  
"You look smoking hot in that dress! Hell, even I would want to jump in those panties."  
They burst out laughing.  
"Thanks, Amy."  
Amy wraps her arms around Beca and gives her a tight hug.  
"Everything's gonna turn out fine. You're Beca effin Mitchell!" She snaps her fingers.  
"You're gonna rock that altar."  
Beca gives her another smile in return.  
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go tie somebody to a pole right now."  
Amy walks out the door and right before she shuts it, Beca screams a "Sounds kinky" after her.

As silence takes over the room again, Beca takes a seat on one of the chairs' armrests.  
Amy's right, otherwise she wouldn't have been asked to get married, right?  
All will be fine.  
But she's got a gut feeling. A bad one.  
Yet she can't place what is bothering her.  
Or rather, who.

* * *

"Finally, there you are! Where have you been?"  
Chloe has barely entered the room or she's being overwhelmed by Aubrey's usual interrogation.  
"I just needed some fresh air, relax."  
She isn't in the mood for this.  
She speeds up her pace and walks past the blonde trying to get rid of her. But she should have known that Aubrey doesn't give up that easily.  
"Hey, Chloe! I'm not finished!"  
Chloe ignores her. She's so caught up in her mind, she doesn't notice Aubrey is already walking beside her until she grabs her wrist.  
"Chloe, look at me."  
Chloe jerks at her arm so Aubrey has to let her go. She really wants to walk away and not deal with anything right now. She wants to be alone.  
But she can't do this any longer.  
So she turns around and faces Aubrey.

"What's going on with you, Chloe? You've been like this for the last couple of days and it's really stressing me out."  
Chloe raises an eyebrow.  
"What do you mean 'like this'?"  
Chloe knows exactly how she's been acting, but she needs to hear it from someone else. It somehow makes it more valid, or legit.  
And she knows Aubrey doesn't shug it down or holds back.  
"So, on edge, and, petulant. Why is that?"  
Chloe wants to tell her so badly, she needs to fess up. It's been messing with her head for so long and if she doesn't get it out of her system soon, her head will explode.  
And if she's telling anybody, it should be Aubrey.  
She opens her mouth to speak as Aubrey impatiently waits, but she gets interrupted as a roar fills the room.

"Incoming!"

It's Fat Amy, who else could it be?

Bumper barges into the room and flashes by Chloe and Aubrey followed by Amy, one fist in the air, and a frightened Emily.  
Aubrey sighs as she and Chloe follow the three with their eyes.  
She quickly switches back to their conversation.  
"So, you were saying?"  
And just like that, Chloe's sudden burst of courage is gone. She starts stuttering.  
"It's nothing- nothing's going on, Bree, I'm sorry I-I'm such a mess, it's just my period kicking in, I guess. It'll be over soon."  
But Aubrey doesn't believe her. She narrows her eyes and stares at Chloe. Aubrey knows Chloe can't resist that look and she'll be confessing soon enough.  
Chloe's hands starts getting sweaty and she tries to look anywhere but in Aubrey's eyes, but they follow her everywhere.  
They both get startled and look up when they hear glass breaking in the back of the room the herd just ran off to, snapping Aubrey out of her concentration.  
Chloe takes the opportunity to talk herself out of this.  
"I think you should take care of that."  
Aubrey keeps eye contact with Chloe for a few more seconds.  
"I'm not done with you yet, Beale. I'll be back."  
Aubrey turns around and walks towards the heated mess that's been happening in the back of the room.

Chloe quickly turns around the corner and rests her back against the wall. Tears starting to form.  
She couldn't tell her.

"She looks hot, doesn't she?" Jessica surprises Chloe as she bumps her elbow into Chloe's, who's being way too fixated on Beca.  
"Yeah, definitely."  
She does look stunning, which hurts Chloe even more.  
She shouldn't be hurt, right? She should be happy for her best friend.  
Getting married.  
Starting a life with somebody.  
That somebody not being her.  
Tears start to form again as she thinks back at the last conversation she had with Beca right before the ceremony started.

"Don't panick, Beca, you're going to be totally fine."  
She sees Beca pacing from one side to the room to the other, mumbling to herself.  
"There is a window right next to my room, I can still escape if I want to. Sure, it's the fifth floor and I could easily break my legs…"  
Chloe giggles, she loves it when Beca rambles on like nobody is around, but she has to shake her back into the harsh reality.  
She grabs the small brunette by the shoulders and starts to shake her.  
"Stop with the panic, Becs!"  
The brunette goes silent. And so does Chloe.  
They just look at each other.  
"Am I doing the right thing, Chlo? Is he the one?"  
If Chloe could have a dollar for every time she has heard that question come out of the brunettes mouth she could have financed this whole wedding herself, twice.

She has been reassuring her so much.  
"It's gonna be okay."  
"You're gonna be fine."  
"It'll be great."  
But she can't keep saying that. There's only so much she can take.  
Honesty is the last resort Chloe has.

"Listen, Beca. I can't decide that for you, these are your feelings and decisions. If he's the one for you, I'm sure deep in your heart you know that. Nobody can change that, not even I can."  
The room stays silent after that.  
Was that too much? Did she go over the line? Panic.  
But instead of Beca going off on her, she hugs her, really really tight.  
They just stand there for a few minutes as the hug gets more and more intimate. Ultimately, Beca lets go.  
"Thank you." It sounds like a whisper.  
"I needed that."  
Chloe squeezes her hand and can't help but smile.  
"You're always welcome, honey."

Chloe snaps back into reality when the pianist start to play. It's the song from The Breakfast Club.  
Of course.  
Beca positions herself across from Jesse and tries to straighten her dress.  
"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Jesse Swanson and Rebeca Mitchell…"  
Chloe doesn't hear much after that. She doesn't want to hear it.  
She keeps her head down at all times, trying to contain her tears.  
She looks up, and as she does, she sees Beca is staring at her with a look on her face Chloe can't place.  
It's not happiness, that's for sure. But it almost seems, sad?  
"Do you,"  
Beca looks back to Jesse.  
"Jesse Swanson, take Rebeca Mitchell to be your lawfully wedded wife?"  
"I do."

First stake in Chloe's heart, one more to go.

"And do you, Rebeca Mitchell, take Jesse Swanson to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Chloe closes her eyes. Let's just get this over with.  
Everybody is waiting for Beca to utter the two words Chloe fears the most at this time, yet she stays silent.  
Chloe opens her eyes, finding Beca to stare at her again.

"I,"  
Beca starts, putting in another pause before dropping the bomb into the room,  
"can't."

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger and the sloppy writing y'all! Just really wanted to put this out there ;)**


End file.
